Are you Hungary for some of this? (Sorry...had to.)

The Moog – Razzmatazz Orfeum – MuSick Recordings

So I browsed these cats on the interwebs. They’re from Hungary. And they got some comparisons to Gogol Bordello. So I figures, “Hey. They’re probably a gypsy-folk-punk thing-a-ma-jig band too.” Nope. Not even.
These guys are pretty much what “alternative music” is today (and I’m still unsure what that is). Meaning? They sound like some new wave, pop-rock band like The Strokes or Frans Ferdinand with a touch more electronics involved. In fact, they will soon take the wrestling title championship belt as the heirs to the “Frans Ferdinand Crown For The Angst-y Young Black Clothing Crowd”. Their stuff is infectiously upbeat (even the slower stuff), has the correct influences (some Pulp, some Bowie, some of that 80’s new romantic stuff…you get the vibe), very slightly “gothically enhanced” (their 7-inch single of the tune ‘You Raised A Vampire’ has a b-side of the Bauhaus tune ‘The Passion Of Lovers’ and cover art by creepy-kids artist Gris Grimly) and they have the seemingly mandatory flouncy clothing. It’s a fine temporary listen for that week, y’know? Fans of those Twilight books and movies will be all kinds of fired-up.

The Woods – EP Logue – Plug Research

The Woods - The EP Logue

Three years ago, this artist dude from Florida named Ian Dudley gathered up a gaggle of his artsy friends and recorded a self-titled LP called “The Woods”…’cause the collective was called ‘The Woods”.

The idea behind the recording was this fictional kid who lived in Florida had an air conditioner that was on the fritz. The lack of cool air makes him head out onto the big, blue ocean and have adventures and whatnot.

After that the group kinda moved around a bit. But Dudley felt that the tale was not complete. So he had Woods members record their parts which he then compiled and edited and all that sound-guy stuff. And the end result is this musical continuation. It’s minimalist without being sparse, y’know? The elements that exist are very swirling and interwoven giving a feel like some childrens’ books where adventure and environment are essential parts of the story (Think books by Maurice Sendak like In The Night Kitchen for example).

The disc plays on the ear with a hint of “odd”; a bit wavering in a mildly surreal fashion. The tone is solid throughout and if this were any longer and had more tunes on it, it would suffer from a sameness. But in this short format, it really works nicely-nicely.

The whole five-song e.p. can be downloaded for free at the website as well and a video for the tune Final Breaths of a Main Character from the first L.P. Can be scoped-out there too.

Cormorant – Metazoa – CD – Saturnine Media

The new CD. Ooooooh...purty.

These San Francisco cats gather up a metric shit-ton of metal influences and styles and squeeeeeze ‘em all together in one, big ole, metalli-whatever. And honestly, it doesn’t suck or get all bogged down in itself.

First off they have a cornerstone sound that is all black metal (think a little along the Enslaved lines). They also have some 2009-ish death metal sprinklings in there (a la Amon Amarth), moments of acoustical, Euro-folk metal (a bit Agalloch-y), some good ol’ power metal swaggering and a decent-sized dollop of prog metal time changes (impressive and tight musicianship without the “I went to Berkeley and can play Flight Of The Bumblebee backwards with my penis” pretension). Hell. It wouldn’t shock me if they probably have a whole mess more styles and sub-genres incorporated into their sound that I just have no idea about because of my limited metal knowledge or my lack of hair).

And hey. If you gots a slew of different blends of styles all working together, you really can’t have just one vocal sound, correct? Cormorant understands this as well. Throat dude uses his larynx to go from death-y gurgling goonings to actual singing to screamin’ demon black metal wails to “I’m so creepy and scary” whisperings (that don’t come off as totally corny, might I add) to moments where he actually kinda sounds like Tom Waites (the tune Hole The Sea).

Now…all those ingredients together would normally put a disc like this so over the top that it would completely suck nards. But these guys pull it off and do it fairly impressively. Not one of the styles dominates over the others allowing for the tunes to work well and offer up some diversity at the same time (Shit. The song Hanging Gardens has strings in it[!], a whole truck full of wah-wah and is clockin’ in at about 11 minutes long. And it is still pretty metal.).

When the same-old-same-old gets,…well, “same” and um, “old”, bands love to meld some favorite/popular musical styles and make something “new”. And that many times leads to an ugly, unlistenable, cluster-fuck of “awful”. These guys don’t fall into that realm.

Metavari – Be One Of Us And Hear No Noise – CD – Crossroads Of America Records

Get out your 3-D glasses

Hmmm. First and foremost we gotta punch some kind of ear tag through the lobe of this release. How’s about “Indie-neo-folk-instru-tronica”. That actually works.

These fellows have some moments that may remind of other bands like Maserati (minus some of the ‘rock’ vibe) and Six Parts Seven (but with a hint more electronics going on) and Explosions In The Sky (just not on as much cough syrup). But they are not clones and have a definite sound that is Metavari.

Movie soundtrack bites mix in with lap-top beats and stir it up with instrumental overtones. Not all synth. Not all band. But a decent blend. Very atmospheric and flowing like water. Not a sense or sound of same-ness with slight mix-ups that keep the shit moving and avoiding the “stale-ies” (The track ‘Cerulean’ is a straight-up pop tune that does it pretty well amidst all the slightly more ethereal tracks). As Chef Boy-Ar-Dee has said; “Eet’s-a nice-a relaxin’ leesten.”

Father Murphy – …and he told us to turn to the sun. – Aagoo Records

If you were expecting an 80's show starring Merlin Olsen, this ain' it.

Hah! This is odd….and well done too. Three or so bandmates from Italy doing some minimal acoustic stuff here. Mostly vocals and guitar with snippets of other sounds and organ work. It’s angular and shadow-y and a bit dire at times…like a dark, low-fi soundtrack to a modern take on The Good, The Bad and the Ugly…with a zombie.

Simple, cathedral-like chant harmonies add to the creepy vibe of the vocals (the track “Go Sinister”). “Hide Yourself In The Woods” is a funeral procession led by Nick Cave through the streets of a Sergio Leone/David Lynch short film. All round? If it were a canned pasta meal it would be a tasty bowl of Berthold Brechts’ Spaghetti Western-Styled Dirge-ee-Oh’s.

Death To New England – 2 song e.p. CD

Three cats, 66.6% of whom used to be in a CT band called The Battlecats. Go to their MySpace page and hear the entire e.p. for free. Dude…free music does not suck nards. And actually, (oh the clever segue) neither does this. Yeah, it’s only two tunes. And yeah, you can hear little bits and pieces of other band riffs in it that sound a bit similar (brief Everclear and Stooges moments hitting my ears). But those musical glimpses (and slight White Stripes-y vibe) work pretty danged well together. The music is catchy, it’s got hooks, it’s snotty-sounding and has a healthy dollop of sweaty, R&B-ish basement rock which is never a bad thing. Lyrics? “I feel your worm hair creeping through my knuckles/It’s all so right now” from the tune “The Hock”.
Added feature; when you drop this disc into your ‘puter the tunes show up as a couple of Christmas songs by a band called The Blue Minkies. I dunno, I found that funny.

The newest Postmarks collection, Memoirs at the End of the World, trades in the low-key atmospherics of their 1st release for the big sound of the cinema. While the self titled debut took it’s cues from Bossa Nova, Bacharach, and the baroque pop of the late 60’s, Memoirs has upped the ante with arrangements, courtesy of band members Jonathan Wilkins and Christopher Moll, that recall the film scores of Lalo Schifrin, Henry Mancini, and John Barry. This is good news. It sets The Postmarks apart from the pack of Ivy /Softies/ Camera Obscura clones while daring Postmarks fans to ascend to a new level.

Key to the album are the beguiling vocals of Tim Yehezkely. In an age where American Idol Shriekathons pass for singing, it’s a pleasure to hear the intimate and sophisticated vocal work of lead singer/songwriter Yehezkely. Whether it’s the Bondish “Thorn In Your Side” or the driving “For Better Or Worse,” the spooky “Run Away Love,” which could have been an outtake from Rosemary’s Baby,  or the sassy pop of “Go Jetsetter,” The Postmarks grand cinematic gesture connects on so many levels. Bombastic, sweet, romantic, or elaborate, The Postmarks, like the soundtracks they emulate, have all of the moods covered. A great 2nd effort. I can’t wait to see where they go from here.

Wow! What a day for music in general yesterday! I must say, Jack White III (of The White Stripes, The Raconteurs, The Dead Weather, and feature film It Might Get Loud) is a brilliant man. Not only is his music hip and interesting, his marketing campaigns are off the chart original and so fun to participate!

Yesterday was day one of three for a Los Angeles based pop-up shop replica of his Third Man Records & Novelties Store in Nashville, TN. An old abandoned theater in Downtown Los Angeles was taken over by Jack White III’s new label and to kick off the three day life-span of the shop, his new group The Dead Weather performed a free show in the standing room only theater. It started at 10 AM when the store adjacent to the venue opened up with lots of goodies and crates full of both common and rare vinyl records from the Third Man label, of which I purchased a sweet poster and a couple 45’s.

inside shop

Then after about a half hour delay, which is understandable for an impromptu venue, The Dead Weather hit the stage and killed a twenty minute power set of their hottest tunes! Great energy from both the band and the enthused fans! I heard the capacity of the place was 700, and it was packed full and quite hot as well- (air conditioners don’t exist in abandoned theaters). But it was so worth the heat, the wait in line, and the trip to Downtown early in the morning to be a part of this music movement in it’s budding stages.

And to add to the depth of White III’s creative business style, he started this “Vault Member” program of which if you join for a reasonable fee, you get a monthly vinyl LP or 45, a T-shirt, other surprises and perks. Well, one of the perks for the “Vault” members, was priority admission to the store and venue. I, however am not a member (yet). So, I waited in line with all my fellow non-vault, common folk. I left after the performance, but at The Dead Weather’s second show of the day at The Mayan Theater show last night, a fellow fan was talking about a second special performance at a surprise Reverse Third Man Store opposite to the original store front adjacent to the venue.

Jack White III dressed as “Little Jack” Lawrence (Bassist for The Dead Weather), and “Little Jack” posed as White III. White III played bass with a long black wig, and Lawrence played piano and sang with a tight red shirt and some white makeup playing and singing the tune, “Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground.” The whole room was reversed. Instead of the Third Man logo being the usual yellow, black, and round figures, it was blue, white, and with square figures. They even sold rare opposite Vinyl LPs and 45s with everything printed in reverse.

I was bummed that I missed it, because I thought the event was over. I would have loved to get at least one item in reverse because I know it’s a limited run, and anything limited by Jack White III always seems to fetch a high price on online auction sites. I’d much rather get it in person for the normal price than try and bid on a dear one! But I have a feeling he’s not done coming up with awesome events and marketing stunts! I’ll be on the alert as I plan to join the “Vault” program next time it’s available to join. And if you’re interested, check it out yourself and get in on the action with this living legend!

The Hi-Nobles – Shake – CD – Zaentz Records - www.myspace.com/thehinobles

The Hi-Nobles

Suits, Soul and Shades.

If you are really, overly concerned with who is in a band and you feel that musicians should never stray from the style of music they started playing back when they were 18 or whatever, first?…you need to stop that mess ’cause that’s dumb (change is constant. Get over it and yourself). And second you can stop reading right now.

The singer who used to “grrrrr” it up for San Francisco funk metal band Mordred back in the late 80’s-early 90’s (Scott Holderby) and the guitarist who started out and is still playing in L.A. punk legends The Avengers (Greg Ingraham) grabbed some other band dudes and slapped together this crew. And what, pray-tell, do these guys sound like, you may wonder ? This is a disc of solid, R&B, garage soul living in CA with a groove address in Detroit. Real fun stuff. All sixties fuzzy sound complete with that distinct keyboard backing and heavy usage of the word “baby” and the lovin’ is always sweet. Oh…and they mean it. No frontin’ the soul on this disc. “Soul Sister”, “Red Eye”, “Shake”…hell, the whole disc (even the slower tunes) will make you wanna find a dark, smoky, steamy club and shake what your Momma gave you with some hot stranger while hitting the well bourbon. Old school party soul.